Philadelphia Phillies are coming to town

Allentown, PA - The Lehigh Valley IronPigs officially announced that the team will host an historic exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, March 30, at Coca-Cola Park. Game time is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. The announcement was made by IronPigs principle owner Joe Finley at the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown on Tuesday.

"We're especially pleased that the big league club will be the first to play in Coca-Cola Park," said David Montgomery, General Partner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia Phillies. "We're excited that the IronPigs are going to be our Triple-A affiliate, which means players at our highest level of development will play in an outstanding ballpark located in an enthusiastic community."

The Phillies-IronPigs showdown will mark the first time Philadelphia will play an exhibition game against one of its minor league affiliates since May 8, 2000 - when the Phillies took on Double-A Reading at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, Pa. Philadelphia's most recent exhibition against its Triple-A affiliate was one year prior, when the Phillies played the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons at Lackawanna County Ballpark on May 20, 1999.

The exhibition is also thought to be the first time in more than 50 years that the Lehigh Valley will showcase a Major League team. One of the most fabled visits by a Major League team took place 84 years ago when the Allentown Dukes hosted the New York Yankees at Edgemont Field on September 7, 1923 (a game the Dukes won, 8-7).

"This is a monumental day for our young franchise and for the Lehigh Valley," said IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes. "It is both an honor and a privilege for the IronPigs to host the reigning National League East Champion Philadelphia Phillies in our first-ever game at Coca-Cola Park."

The IronPigs will contact current full-season and partial-season ticket holders with the opportunity to purchase tickets to the exhibition. New ticket plan holders will also receive the same opportunity. Ticket plans are available by calling the IronPigs ticket department at (610) 435-3001, online at www.ironpigsbaseball.com and at the IronPigs Merchandise store at 1892 Catasauqua Road in the Valley Plaza in Allentown.

The IronPigs will open their inaugural season four days later on April 3 in Moosic, Pa., against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. The 2008 season will end a 48-year drought by providing the Lehigh Valley its first affiliated professional baseball team since 1960 - when the Allentown Red Sox of the Eastern League left for Johnstown, Pa.

The Phillies will open their season in Philadelphia the following day, hosting the Washington Nationals on March 31, 2008, at Citizens Bank Park.